The report also faults the Goldwater Institute for paying its executives handsomely while operating as a non-profit organization and suggests the institute is hypocritical because it criticizes government spending but collects taxpayer dollars in the form of attorneys’ fees from legal victories.

CMD, a non-profit investigative group based in Wisconsin, used public records, Goldwater’s website, its own prior reports and research by other liberal groups to link the Goldwater Institute to the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council and its corporate agenda.

Darcy Olsen, Goldwater’s executive director, said she was perplexed by the report because it broke no ground, only compiling information that is publicly available.

“We’re flattered that a left-wing organization felt it was necessary to stitch together a very fanciful conspiracy theory,” she said. “There seems to be a critique that we’re funded by conservatives. Of course we’re funded by conservatives — we’re a conservative think tank.”

Olsen defended the institute’s financial operations, noting that it has a four-star rating from Charity Navigator for its operations and that it passed an Internal Revenue Service audit four years ago.

The think tank was established in 1988 and took the name of Arizona’s retired U.S. senator, Barry Goldwater, who endorsed the move. The center’s researchers took a wide-ranging look at the think tank’s operations.

The report questioned a $1.7 million line of credit the institute extended to Shamrock Foods Co., whose president, Norm McClelland, is also a Goldwater board member. Olsen said the institute invests its excess cash in Shamrock Farms because it gets a better rate of return than from a bank.

The report also took issue with Goldwater’s claim that its donations come “solely” from individual donors, noting it also accepts money from foundations.

And it noted Goldwater fills its coffers with attorneys’ fees provided by Arizona taxpayers through court judgments won against government, while complaining government overpays its workers.

Goldwater in 2011 collected $1million in attorneys’ fees from the state after winning a challenge to the state’s public-campaign-finance system.

Olsen said the payment of attorneys’ fees is typical when a court finds government has infringed on individual rights. And, she added, other non-profit groups, from the American Civil Liberties Union to the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest, also reap attorneys’ fees when they prevail in lawsuits against the government.

The report also reiterates some of the research the Center for Media and Democracy published in 2011 in its “ALEC Exposed” report, noting the similar agendas of Goldwater and ALEC on issues such as education, health care and public-employee unions. ALEC produces model legislation, which it gives to state lawmakers nationwide to introduce in their respective states. The model bills tilt heavily toward public-policy changes that would benefit businesses. Goldwater is an ALEC member, as are many Republican Arizona legislators.

“Over the years, Goldwater staffers have proposed numerous bills at ALEC task force meetings, where elected officials and private sector members (like corporate lobbyists and special interest groups) vote as equals behind closed doors on templates to change the law,” the new report states.

“It’s outrageous that an organization that bears Barry Goldwater’s name has consistently led the attack on working Arizonans, on our teachers and on our first responders, while its executives enrich themselves at our expense,” Frank Piccioli, president of AFSCME Local 2960 in Phoenix and a member of Arizona Working Families, said in a statement. Arizona Working Families is a labor-backed organization that advocates for the working class.

Posting a comment to our website allows you to join in on the conversation. Share your story and unique perspective with members of the azcentral.com community.

Comments posted via facebook:

► Join the Discussion

azcentral.com has switched to the Facebook comment system on its blogs. Existing blog comments will display, but new comments will only be accepted via the Facebook comment system. To begin commenting, you must be logged into an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. While we welcome you to join conversations, readers are responsible for their comments and abuse of this privilege will not be tolerated. We reserve the right, without warning or notification, to remove comments and block users judged to violate our Terms of Service and Rules of Engagement. Facebook comments FAQ

Join thousands of azcentral.com fans on Facebook and get the day's most popular and talked-about Valley news, sports, entertainment and more - right in your newsfeed. You'll see what others are saying about the hot topics of the day.